Happy Winter Solstice!

This is arguably one of my favorite days of the year...It's all downhill from here. At least thats my feeling on this first day of winter. Excited for the days to get longer and in just a couple of months to have the first seeds of 2011 germinating.

Also exciting on this first day of winter is my dinner. Which is cooking right now - kale (in chip form of course) and brussels sprouts from Skeeter Farm. I'll probably add some cookies and other holiday treats to the veggies to make it a well rounded dinner, but I sure am happy to still be eating the vegetables of our labour this late in the year!

Third exciting thing of the day: Amanda and I had a monumental meeting this morning where we signed on as partners together going forward. It's a good feeling to make things "official"...but also seems so formal for something as natural and organic as growing good food together.

Fourth and final exciting thing - check out the view across the road from the new farm...pretty sweet!

Happy Holidays folks! Hope you all have a delicious meal with good people in the next week in honor whatever you might be celebrating!

Farmer Tans 2011 Calendar

If you are in need of a calendar for 2011 (which is fast approaching), look no further! The Rainbow Chard Collective (based on Vancouver Island and around BC) has come up with this great little diddy that features local, young farmers in their birthday suits. The calendar is packed with racy photography, recipes, farmy quotes and days such as "Spank a Farmer With Fresh Garlic Day" which happens to fall on June 9th. What's even better about this calendar is that the proceeds go towards the actions of the Collective including supporting new farmers' quest for land and other important issues.

I picked up mine online last week, and got it hand delivered a day later. Order here http://Rainbowchard.yolasite.com/ for a year of eye candy!

We're Moving!

It's been awhile since I wrote a blog post, which is a common theme on farm blogs near the end of the season I have been noticing. Things are pretty frozen out at the farm, I have mostly been concentrating on school work and we all have been recouping after the season.

We do, however, need to get our butts in gear to get ready for 2011 as there is much work to do and some big changes happening! One big thing is that Skeeter Farm will be moving from the property in Abbotsford to land leased from Fraser Valley Duck and Goose in Yarrow. The move will take us about 10 minutes East of where we are currently located, into Chilliwack. Moving to FVDG is a positive thing in many regards including: having access to many handy things available on a large farm operation (like tractors and electricity!), lovely compost produced on farm, secure storage and more people around to make sure we're okay, joint marketing opportunities, NO MOSQUITOS, and likely many other benefits that will come out in the wash.

Some folks have been asking about how exactly one would move a farm....no, we won't be digging up vegetables and moving them. We will just be planting in another location next year. We will also have to set up some infrastructure like irrigation and the hoophouse (looking for a used hoophouse again one if anyone knows of one) again at the new site. All of this means lots of work, and we will likely be calling on friends for some volunteer parties in the spring.

 A little sentimental about the end of a great two years at the old farm

Freshly turned soil and new opportunities in Yarrow

The other big thing that is happening is that ownership of the business is changing. Hannah and Jamie are leaving Skeeter Farm to pursue other things for the time being and Amanda who was our "intern" for 2010 will be joining me as a business partner going forward. Both Hannah and Jamie expect to be farming in the future which will make for exciting opportunities for collaboration. I am also really excited that Amanda didn't get scared off in her first year and wants to take a bigger role in Skeeter Farm.

Despite major changes and a couple of less people on the farm, we will still be continuing the CSA program as well as some farmers markets (with some changes as will be revealed as we work through the details). We will also continue to grow without any synthetic fertilizers and chemical pesticides/herbicides in this new location.

More about the move and changes to our operation as we evolve. CSA information for next year will be sent out early in the New Year. For now, happy December everyone...Stay warm!

It's That Time of Year

See the leaves whirling around on the streets, the frost on your windshield, feel the shiver in the morning? Winter is on its way. I thought that after this summer it would be a rough adjustment, spending days in the hot sun, but so far this winter has been great. Granted, heirloom tomatoes are done, sweet green peas are no more, but wow do we have some great veggies to look forward to! This summer was a great lesson for me in terms of the personal responsibility of eating local and supporting our other local farmers. Reducing my carbon footprint was something I have always tried to do, and my efforts of eating local prior to my Skeeter Farm introduction was something of a hobby, not a true belief or passion. The creation of local squash from last years seeds, or the act of seed saving for next years' tomato crop has been a great lesson from my Skeeter Farm mentors. This summer has really brought me around to the fact that I could never turn my back on what we are doing as farmers, and our importance to the preservation of our local food and our beliefs of what real food is.

My picture here is some fabulous kale still left in the field, and my pride and joy of canned Skeeter Farm veggies and fruit. Ground cherry jam, pickled carrots, beans, beets, and cukes. Just this week, I was able to entertain with a platter of Skeeter Farm pickles! Yum!

Local veggies in a jar, and the sturdy, leafy greens of the fall/winter months. Everyone, grab a sweater and slippers, and cozy up to winter and its lovely bounty we are so lucky to have.

Terra Madre Update

One of the things that Slow Food emphasized to the Terra Madre 2010 delegates was that it is very important bring back the "message" of Terra Madre to our local counterparts in order to build capacity for the movement in our local communities.

I am quite new to Slow Food as an organization. The movement has been around since the 1970's and seems to have a huge following all across Europe, considerable political clout and and some serious government support which enables it to pull off the huge event that is Terra Madre. However, my exposure to the organization is limited to the little bit of volunteering that I have done for events that the Vancouver chapter puts on. I found myself thinking quite a bit during the event and workshops about this "message" we were supposed to be bringing back and proliferating amongst our local communities. After 3 days of intensive workshop sessions, conversations with other farmers/foodies and serious amounts of delicious food samplings it turns out that the "message" of Terra Madre isn't so simple that I can type it into a sentence, or a paragraph, or perhaps even an essay. Even Slow Food themselves have written pages and pages of documentation in order to explain the ideas and opinions of the organization.

From what I gather the "message" of Terra Madre is one of support for a number of important factors surrounding food and agricultural governance, sustainable resource management and ecological agriculture, socially acceptable food and agricultural systems, recognition and support for traditional ecological knowledge and traditional/historical foods. Pretty all encompassing eh? For me, it is still a little unclear how we go about achieving steps towards these reforms in our food system.

If I had to narrow down MY one take home message from the whole event it would be that gatherings of farmers which allow us to converse, share and exchange ideas are possibly the single most important means of social collaboration that we will need to keep us motivated. It is pretty amazing that we had to travel half way around the world to be able to find a time and space that allowed us farmers to openly share our experiences...makes me think that we should try to replicate this type of knowledge exchange more close to home on a more frequent basis (apparently more easier said than done).

Terra Madre day is being held on December 10th at the Italian Cultural Center. The delegates from 2010 will be in attendance and we hope to share what we learned from the whole experience with others in the local food community. Perhaps I will have some more concrete thoughts flushed out by that time...at this point I am still recovering from a whirlwind trip and subsequent scramble to catch up at school. Please do consider joining us if you would like to enjoy some delicious food and speak to some folks involved with food and farming.

With that I will leave you with some photos from the Salone del Gusto (overwhelmingly large room of deliciousness that was attached to the actual conference) and a couple of the markets in Venice.

Growing Local Grain - Talk at Museum of Vancouver

A new friend Chris (who was at the Terra Madre meetings with Amy) is doing a talk about growing local grains this week at the Museum of Vancouver. We highly suggest you check it out! If you can't make it for Thursday, check out the Museum's local food photography exhibit in the near future.

HOME GROWN EXHIBITION CURATOR SERIES

Thursday November 4 @ 7 pm - Presenter: Chris Hergesheimer

Topic - Growing local grain and the first grain CSA in the lower mainland

Location: Museum of Vancouver, 1100 Chestnut Street Vancouver, BC

Biography: Chris Hergesheimer holds a B.A. in Anthropology from Simon Fraser University. He is the founding member of the Local-Grain-Initiative. Hergesheimer's goal is to position himself at the centre of a community dedicated to local sustainable food production in just the way the community miller was central to communities before the mega-marts and the 10,000-kilometre supply chain. Chris organizes FF/CF’S Grain Chain Coordinator whilst he runs his own business, The Flour Peddler.

Tweet: HOME GROWN EXHIBIT speaker Chris Hergesheimer: Local Grain & the 1st grain CSA in the lower mainland Nov 4 @ 7pm @ www.museumofvancouver.ca

The Beginning/The End

Tomorrow marks the last Farmers' Market for Skeeter Farm this season! We will be at the Vancouver West End market from 9-2 tomorrow (in case you're around and want to say hi). Which means that tonight was the last big market harvest (which we completed by headlamp just after the sun went down).

Fall is a strange time at the farm. Stuff is dying out in the field and we are all feeling a lot of burnout. The last crop to come off the farm will be the pumpkins (we’ve got massive jack-o-lanterns and nice sugar pumpkins this year), which really do seem to indicate the end of the season.

At the same time that 2010 is wrapping up, we are already beginning the next season, planning for our 2011 CSA program, preparing the fields for planting in the early spring...and even planting some seed now. Amanda and I took advantage of the fantastic weather this October has been serving up and got our first crop of 2011 in the ground this week - Garlic. We chose to plant two varieties: Northern Quebec and Chesnok Red. Both have received rave reviews in terms of flavour. 

Amanda getting down with garlic (its important to plant straight, right?)

 Northern Quebec variety (massive cloves of deliciousness!)

Although this week marks the end of our 2010 markets, we still do have one CSA delivery coming your way, which will be on October 31st. In between now and then we have come exciting stuff happening in our lives...

Hannah and her long time partner Dutch, (official photographer/tech support for Skeeter Farm), are tying the knot in a rather unconventional manner. How Hannah managed to pull off planning a "wedding" while farming and working a full time job is beyond me...but it's all set for next weekend (wedding in is quotations because I know I'm not supposed to call it that). So congratulations to a fantastic couple on their upcoming union!

I am actually pretty bummed that I don't get to attend their event...but will probably not feel too sad on the day because I will be in Turin, Italy at the Terra Madre conference put on by Slow Food International. I feel pretty honored to be one of 12 or so people who are representing BC at the meetings - there is a good contingent of young farmers  and other foodie folks who are going over and I would imagine that a great deal of collaboration could result from our time there together. I will be sure to take lots of pictures of the fabulous food and farmers that will be showcased from around the world and give you folks a good update when I am back!

Although its the end of the season and we might not have any exciting posts about vegetables we will still try to maintain the blog sporadically throughout the winter (usually with fluff that comes up here and there, recipes and whatnot). As always, if you have any suggestions for this blog (for example, a cool event that you want to advertise) please let us know! We also welcome any feedback about our food, CSA program, market booth etc - if you have any ideas, now is a great time to share them as we move into planning mode. 

with Love, 

Amy and the rest of Skeeter Farm

Flavor Makers

Hi everyone, I guess this blog is not a surprise. Herbs. But one would think that I would rave about these little beauties in the height of summer when fresh lovely basil or oregano would be ready, but these flavor makers come up all year round. Especially since the indoor planters or adorned balconies are covered these days in herbs. That is great. Everyone can take a stab at growing, not matter how big or small, or even if only limited to a few sprigs of thyme or tarragon.

Now, I know that we here at Skeeter Farm have been filling precious CSA bags weekly with an herb selection, but that just boasts the fact that we can grow herbs. And we are proud. Basil, oregano, thyme, lavender (next year!), rosemary, cilantro, lovage, mint, sage, yum.

Above is just an example of the herbs we are even having for sale at our lovely farmer's markets. I love it when people come searching for cilantro to go with their homemade salsa, mint to add to their tabbouleh, basil for their caprese. Herbs add an incredible flavor to dishes of meats, grains, or seafood. An uplifter to salads, soups, or risottos. That little something, something to even a sandwich. I love it just because I don't have to add extra salt to my pasta sauces!
Sage is the one in demand now. Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and creative stuffings for turkeys are being planned. Can I make a suggestion though? Add a little lovage to your stuffing if you can as well. That old fashioned herb will add that great celery flavor, and the scent is awesome. Again, visit your local farmers markets (especially the one in Coquitlam this Sunday as Skeeter Farm will be there!) to see what the herb selection is this week and try something new!
Jamie Oliver once said that 'once you start eating herbs, you become instant healthly'. I can't remember if it was in one of his shows or in one of his books, but he did say that. Can you just hear him? Anyway, he was right. Herbs have those great phytonutrients and can help prevent damage to blood vessels. High in minerals of iron, potassium and magnesium, those dark leaves even contain small traces of omega 3 fats! And a little herb fact, oregano is even claimed to have the highest antioxidant activity of all the 27 fresh herbs.
What great flavor makers they are, hey? What a great addition these herbs have to our flavor palates. Oh dear, I have got to get on with making my pesto. Let's if I can switch up the combo and maybe add some unusuals this time....

Beans !

I woke up this morning and felt a little pang of guilt, and a slight bit of panic about all of the little things I have left undone in my life lately. Weeds are engulfing certain crops on the farm, squash that needs curing, serious logistics to be worked out about the wrap up of the season (and yes mom...phone parents!). Part time farming/full time student-ing does have its drawbacks....

Blog posting would be one of those little things that has fallen a bit by the wayside and for that we apologize. Despite not writing much lately, there has still been some exciting developments at Skeeter Farm. We have some serious pumpkin growth/ripening happening, lovely little ears of popcorn forming, and my newest most favorite crop - dry beans - are hanging up in the hoop house to dry. 

A little preview of 2 of the varieties we grew (Candy and Orca)...and clean hands (i.e. very little farm work accomplished lately)

For those unfamiliar, dry beans would be those that you soak and cook before eating, such as black beans, navy beans, kidney beans etc. We planted 5 varieties of dry beans this year, which we procured from Salt Spring Seeds, as a small experiment. The idea with dry beans is that you grow them just as you would a regular bush bean plant, but instead of harvesting the pods when they are green, you let them dry on the plant and then remove the bean seeds from the pod. 

Due to the wet weather in September I made the call to pull all of the plants out and let them finish drying upside down in the hoop house (to try to avoid rotting). Hopefully in a few weeks I will be able to give a little update on our dry bean experiment (and perhaps the results of a taste test) and let you know if we will have some for purchase this year. I have yet to decide whether or not to save all the seed from this year to expand the crop for next season, or to try to sell some of them to test out market prices. Whether they are available this year or next year, the idea of providing a more local protein source and further increasing the diversity of our products is exciting. 

September Rainy Day Fun

Judging by the Abbotsford weather report, you might need something fun to do inside this weekend. If you are in the Valley and like delicious food, then check out EAT! Fraser Valley at the Tradex in Abbotsford this weekend. We will be there all weekend at the Farm Start BC booth. Stop by and say hi...you can enter to win some prizes including a basket o' veggies from Skeeter Farm.

Here's something else you might want to plan to do this weekend or sometime soon: Save seed! All you home gardeners out there growing your favorite heirloom tomatoes or other crops should consider trying your hand at seed saving this season. There is something really satisfying about planting seeds from fruits that you carefully selected the year before for their taste and characteristics...and its really not that hard.

I started saving seed last year from my home garden and from the farm and had varied results with the crops this year. The tomatoes from the seed I saved from my garden were by far the best, and in my opinion, the most fun to try to save.

Select varieties that are Open Pollinated  (marked OP on your seed packet) and use the internet to search for tips and tricks on how to best collect the seeds.

As for tomatoes, you want to select ripe tomatoes from plants that did well, lack signs of disease, produced the best tasting tomatoes and/or the best looking tomatoes. Its a good idea to take tomatoes from several plants (if you have more than one).

Cut the tomatoes in half and scoop out the seeds and pulp from the cavities into containers (I use mason jars). If there isn't much juice in the jar, add a little bit of water so the seeds can float. Carefully label the jars so you don't lose track of the varieties that you are saving and then store the jars for 5 days or so until a layer of mold forms on the top (the seeds need to ferment before they will be able to germinate). Once a nice layer of mold fully covers the top of your container, you can scoop the layer off, pour the remaining seeds/juice into a strainer and rinse the seeds. The last step is to dry the seeds on a plate, giving them a little shake every day to keep them from clumping together. Once the seeds are fully dry, put your little seeds into a labelled envelope for safe keeping until its time to plant next year.

Just think, if you save a few varieties each season, you'll build up an impressive tomato collection in no time!